How do you capture the sound of Latino USA?

It’s a tall order, and Latino USA has cycled through quite a few theme songs in its 30 years. There was its original debut theme, with acoustic guitar and soft woodwinds. That was followed by a brassier, more Latin Jazz influenced sound when Latino USA moved to Harlem with the Futuro Media Group. There were even a few years there when Latino USA didn’t have a theme song at all, instead featuring unique scoring for each of its stories. 

As the show and its audience kept growing and evolving over the years, so did its theme song. In 2017, the Latino USA team decided to introduce a new sound. The team reached out to musical artist Xenia Rubinos to create a brand new theme song — and five years later, it’s the same song you hear on the show today. 

In this episode, Xenia opens up about her process creating the Latino USA theme song, and all of the artistic and personal influences that went into it. (If you listen closely, you might catch the sound of coffee brewing!) Xenia also discusses her own creative growth over the last few years and how changes in the music industry and her own musical practice unlocked a new level of creativity for her. All of this  inspired a special 30th anniversary remix of her iconic Latino USA theme song.

Featured image by Mya Pagán.